Blood Money Parallel Economy of The Underworld

Reports from Ekiti state, Nigeria for the last 48 hours, unfortunately, expose gaps of woeful failure in the security system. Two traditional rulers of paramount status were ambushed and killed on their way back from an important traditional meeting bordering on how to develop and progress their communities.?

Unfortunately Ekiti is my state. The second incident , school children kiddnapping happened in my home town axis, Ise-Ekiti.

The ones who seemed to be lucky enough to escape from the barrel fires of the killers’ guns were not truly lucky in real terms. They were reported to have survived with life-threatening injuries. More worrisome is the distressing news, of a sad event of the same day, 6 primary-school-aged pupils who were abducted and taken into the forest on their way back home to their parents after a long day of schoolwork. They were kidnapped together with 3 of their teachers and the school bus driver, all abducted at gunpoint and taken into the heart of thick forests in the cold of the current harmattan weather in Ekiti state, Nigeria. This incident happened around the Eporo-Emure-Ise-Ekiti axis on Monday night,29th January 2024.?

Oba Olatunde Olushola Onimojo was an intellectual of a fecund mind, an historian and orator who spoke truth to power, with a PhD in History. So disheartening and soorry to realize that this global asset, Oba Olatunde Onimojo, was wasted by some tartered-looking criminal elements in the name of kidnapping for randsome.

Nothing underscores a security system failure more than the kidnap of toddlers in their school uniforms. It signposts a gloomy reality for both the present and future of the kids. United Nations, and UNESCO, in their doctrines of sustainability and sustainable development goals canvase for the safety and safeguarding of children regardless of their social and family backgrounds. Children are to be protected, against every odd and offered an unfettered privilege to exercise their living rights to the fullness of their potential. But today in Nigeria, shamefully, the present living opportunity of a child is not secured talk less of their future. All in the name of a 'Blood Money Parallel Economy of The Underworld' which involves kidnapping innocents’ souls for ransom money. Kidnapping for the exchange of money has gone on to become an established goldmine for the underworld for years, under the nose of successive governments. The cycles and chains of crime have been going on for years in Nigeria with every state of the country having their fair share. Expert reports suggest that the dark economy is worth more than 1 billion naira a year. That is, criminal perpetrators of kidnapping business in Nigeria make more than 1 billion Naira a year.?

The crime is an incentivised crime unlike gun crimes in the US where actors seem to just want to be happy killing without seeking any monetary benefit out of the actions. That is, in Nigeria, the criminals perpetrate the crime with an eye for monetary gains. That means it is reasonable to look beyond the hardened criminals in dealing with the crime. The incentive systems and the financial system of the crime ring should be figured out and busted.?

This is not a regular crime you pursue using the 'brick and mortar' approach of the traditional intelligence gathering. No! Fighting this crime calls for a robust multi-disciplinary approach!?

Fire needs heat, fuel and oxygen to burn and flame to a destructive proportion. The best practices for fighting against fire incidents are: to deoxygenate the fire, separate fire from fuel and remove the source of heat. In fighting the crime of ransomed kidnapping in Nigeria, the crime-fighting system should step up its game and imbibe a holistic and multi-disciplinary approach. If they are truly sincere and want to fight the crime to assure safety for all. The incentive system should be disrupted. The incentives are the motivations motivations for the crime. Societal systems should be energised to make it impossible for criminals to request millions in ransom money to successfully receive the same. The crude method of telling relatives of the kidnapped victims not to pay kidnappers is becoming sillier by the day. Especially, when you read in the news instances whereby kidnappers purposively shoot at and kill one of their kidnapped victims just to send burning chills down the spines of remaining kidnapped victims, also to send strong warnings to relatives of the remaining victims to make haste with arranging the asked ransom money. Most of the time, the relatives of the kidnapped are not even given the opportunity and time to price down the asked Ransome. They are follow instructions. So to hasten them up and further frighten them up, they( the criminals) purposively kill the captives.?

Now, telling the relative not to pay ransom when the lives of their loved ones are at stake is irresponsible of the police system. It is like fighting fighting the unfortunate victims' relatives instead of fighting the crime and the criminals. Who are the financial backbones of these criminal rings? Obviously, they don't spend the huge millions received from their victim in the forest. Then, it begs the question:

1. How do they spend the huge millions collected in randsome?
2. Who are their bankers?
3. Who are their collaborators in the community??
4. Who are their kingpins and commanders living their normal lives in the community?

These are the questions the police system should critically research and answer.?

Conclusively, the government as a matter of urgency a framework whereby it will be possible to speedily try apprehended kidnappers( with incontrovertible evidence) and put them to death instantly. This will reduce the number of foot soldiers available for kidnapping ventures geometrically on an ongoing basis. It would demotivate the venture and the would-be entrant.

may God rest the soul of the departed Obas in Ekiti, and also bring the victims of school kidnappings back home alive safely. Amen.

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